You might often feel like you’re already living through an apocalyptic nightmare, but I assure you that E.L. Katz’s new culty survival horror Azrael is way weirder and more wild than anything you’re doomscrolling through late at night. Written by Simon Barrett (You’re Next, Seance), and starring genre badass Samara Weaving (Ready or Not), Azrael is a blood-soaked and buck wild revenge tale set in a fractured world. It’s got everything you could ask for in a post-apocalyptic horror flick. It’s got cults, it’s got shotguns, it’s got seething anger, and (best of all) it’s got weird hellscape creatures lurking in the forest that rip people to shreds 🤘
Set decades into a future where Christianity was right all along (bummer), the rapture has snatched away a large percentage of the planet, leaving behind madness and chaos in its wake. With this knowledge, many of the remaining survivors have radicalized themselves and taken a vow of silence to quiet their sinful tongues. Naturally, it’s not as pretty as simply pinky promising you’ll never speak again. These crazy bastards have cut out their tongues, willingly, and removed the tongues of damn near everyone else that put up a fight. What’s left is a terrifying world of silence, save for the blood-curdling screams of people the group chooses to sacrifice.
“Everything you could ask for in a post-apocalyptic horror flick.”
In the beginning, God created Azrael (Samara Weaving) and her lover (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Candyman). But God also saw fit to have these two lovers kidnapped and separated by madmen, dragged deep into the woods to become dinner an offering for the hellish burnt demon creatures stalking the forests. Driven by her desire to see her love again and her refusal to die, Azrael escapes and begins the long tortuous road of revenge. Along the way she encounters bone-chilling monsters. Some human, some something else entirely- but every step, every bashed-in brain and every broken bone brings her one step closer to salvation.
There are few actors that look as good covered head-to-toe in blood as Samara Weaving. Tom Cruise looks good running, Brad Pitt somehow makes eating look cool, but ain’t nobody as badass on the big screen as a blood-splattered Samara Weaving. And it’s a brilliant bit of casting as well because the entire movie hangs on Weaving’s physical performance. Without the ability to speak, she is still able to communicate the entire story without any confusion or misunderstanding. When Azrael is afraid, or furious, you are there with her. Similar to 2023’s surprise “Silent Film” No One Will Save You, Azrael kicks dialogue to the curb and asks you to take the passenger seat in a vicious & visceral execution of vengeance. Azrael has everything you’re looking for in a violent af, post-apocalyptic nightmare- as long as you’re cool with zero dialogue.
“…ain’t nobody as badass on the big screen as a blood-splattered Samara Weaving.”
Me, personally, I love silent movies. I even kinda liked John Woo’s Silent Night (not to mention big chunks of the new Godzilla x Kong). More than anything, I think I just hate overwritten exposition and word salad. And there is no group more adept at word salad and exposition in a horror movie than religious nutballs. The crazy religious character always gets too much time to shine and without a doubt, it’s the #1 thing that pulls me out of a movie. But what if I didn’t have to hear all that fire & brimstone bullshit or evil evangelizing? What a dream that would be!
That’s the gift of Azrael, beyond a stacked cast of performers, gallons and gallons of fake blood, and 90 straight minutes of brutality and tension. It’s a movie that understands what you want to see, and doesn’t think you’re too stupid to figure out all the finer details that flush out the world. There are also chapter cards that come up from time to time with more background info, but that’s beside the point lol.
“…isn’t afraid to get dark, take risks, and swing for the fences in hopes of hitting a horror-homerun.”
Azrael is a crowd-pleasing revenge tale that loves to stick a knife in the ribs of its viewer and twists. And like every other religious horror movie of the last year or so, it does also have a moment that will drive the internet mad and make grandma cry, don’t you worry. It’s a punishing movie at times, but one that isn’t afraid to get dark, take risks, and swing for the fences in hopes of hitting a horror-homerun with practical effects, severed heads, and cannibalistic demon creatures. Amen to that.
E.L. Katz’s Azrael celebrated its World Premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival before making the trek out to Panic Fest for one of the most crowd-pleasing movies of the festival. Click HERE to follow our continued coverage of the festival and let us know if you’re excited to see Azrael wherever it may find you, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or in the official Nightmare on Film Street Discord!
